Impasse declared after Martin County teachers, school district can't reach agreement on pay raises

MARTIN COUNTY — It's unlikely Martin County public school teachers will receive pay raises before classes are dismissed for winter break.

On Monday, after six contract negotiation sessions, the teachers union, the Martin County Education Association, declared impasse with the School District after the two sides couldn't reach an agreement on how to distribute the district's share of the $480 million Gov. Rick Scott and lawmakers earmarked for teacher pay raises. The two sides also disagree on other items, such as stipends and teacher workdays, which are being negotiated as part of the 2013-2014 contract.

Union President Pam Kessler said she believes the union brought forward salary and language proposals that were both "fair and reasonable" and within the $3.35 million the state gave to the district for the raises.

"This education reform brought down from Tallahassee is a flawed system and our desire has only been to make it work for the Martin County teachers and for the district," Kessler said at Monday's negotiation session.

But school district officials said they couldn't afford the union's proposal in future years and couldn't agree to the automatic "step" raises the union was seeking for its tenured teachers.

"Steps" are pay increases built into a salary schedule in increments based on years of experience.

"MCEA's last proposal would unreasonably jeopardize the financial stability of our organization and put us at risk of violating Florida statutes," said Kim Sabol, the district's staff attorney who serves as the district's chief negotiator. "We respectfully regret that teachers will not be able to receive their money before the holidays as the board and superintendent always intended."

Balancing the budget

Sabol estimated the cost of the union's proposal next year would be approximately $4.6 million — about $1.3 million more than what the district received from the state this year.

The School Board needed to slash about $3 million from this year's budget to have a balanced budget under state law. About one-third of the cuts or $1 million was cut from employees in the form of furloughs.

If it wasn't for the state money, the district wouldn't be able to provide pay raises, Sabol said.

The average raise for teachers under the district's latest proposal is $2,125.

Teachers object to the furloughs and say it's a breach of their contract. The union has filed an unfair labor practice claim with the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission as well a grievance which will go to arbitration.

A hearing for the unfair labor practice has been scheduled for Dec. 20, Sabol said.

What's next

More hearings with special arbitrators could be on the horizon.

The next step is for the district and union to send a letter to the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission officially declaring impasse.

Then if either side requests, the employee commission will assign an arbitrator who will hear both sides, find common ground, then make recommendations on what the contract should be.

Or the sides can choose to skip the arbitration process and try their case in front of the School Board which, acting as a legislative body, can impose the contract on the teachers.

Kessler said she was disappointed with the outcome of Monday's session and had been hopeful that a new contract would be settled.

District officials also expressed disappointment and say it's unknown how long it may take to resolve the issues. Sabol said the two sides can continue to negotiate during the impasse process.

"It had been the hope and goal of the district to reach a contract settlement with the (union) as soon as possible and prior to the December holiday break," Schools Superintendent Laurie Gaylord said in a news release. "However, the issue how to award the salary increase remains unresolved."